Instead of the Thorn Bush

There weren't many trees in Eritrea. The government of the newly liberated country in East Africa had recently installed afforestation projects to plant new trees where previously there were none. But they were still saplings. Since most Eritreans cooked over wood fueled fires, trees were a precious commodity.

Come Christmas season, I had a problem. I wanted a Christmas tree, but there were none to be found. We finally decided to cut down the thorn bush in the front "yard" of our house. We wedged its stick-like trunk into a bucket of rocks and hung tiny ornaments sent by my sister-in-law. I was so proud of our Christmas tree!

We spent 2 1/2 challenging and wonderful years in Eritrea. I believe that we lived there during the best time in its history. We heard amazing stories from our friends who fought for independence. We saw joy and hope in the eyes of everyone who walked freely down the streets in the evenings when once they hid from MiGs flying overhead. Life was simple and happy for Eritreans. The nightmares of war faded and the dreams of a promising future grew more vivid.

Little did we know that only a few months of peace remained when we departed our little African home and returned to the USA. Before long we received news of fresh fighting. Within a few years we received news of our friends being imprisoned, tortured, killed. Churches went underground as persecution intensified. Unrest came both from within and from outside. Our hearts broke every time we heard a new report.

But God is sovereign and He is in control. This morning I read Isaiah 55 and I found a little phrase tucked away amid promises that God's ways are not our ways. Verse 13 says, "Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree".

How pleased I was with our thorn bush that Christmas we spent in Eritrea! But when I think of Eritrea nowadays, my heart is heavy. Figuratively speaking, even the thorn bushes are stripped away. But God is in control and one day (figuratively speaking) He will fill its landscape with pine trees!

I find hope in Hebrews 2:8,9a "In putting everything under him (Jesus), God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus..."

Today I see the thornbush. I smell dirt. I feel the prick of the brier. It is ugly.

But when I look at God's people in Eritrea...I see green. I smell the scent of the fir. I see fresh. I see life. I see hope. I see pine trees.

One day, instead of the thorn bush will grow the pine tree.

One day...